Shogun does one thing better than every other show, according to fans

Jessica Cullen
Shogun does one thing better than every other show, according to fans: Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga

Shogun has already captured the attention of viewers everywhere, and they all agree that it’s better than every other show for doing one key thing right.

If there’s one show that everyone is talking about right now, it’s Shogun. From the start, the FX series has been highly-anticipated by fans, who’ve been awaiting another on-screen adaptation of James Clavell’s novel for decades.

Following three characters who collide in seventeenth century Japan, the series has already proven itself as the show to beat for 2024. Currently sitting at 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, the mini-series has gained a fast following, with many viewers declaring it a “masterpiece“.

But there’s one thing that audiences are praising Shogun for above all else, and it’s something they think TV shows have been failing at for quite a while now.

Shogun fans praise series for actually having “good lighting”

Over on X, fans took to their timelines to declare Shogun as an outlier in the TV world for actually putting in an effort when it comes to the cinematography — with the lighting, more specifically.

The post that started the conversation alluded to the fact that most modern-day shows don’t typically have good lighting. It’s a trend that fans began noticing back in the final season of Game of Thrones, which was widely criticized for being too dark for viewers to actually see what was going on. Shogun, however, doesn’t seem to have this problem.

“Seriously one of the first things I realized I liked about Shogun was that they shot scenes inside of a dark ship and the entire background wasn’t as dark as the inside of a woodchuck’s assh*le (to borrow a Stephen Kingism),” one user responded.

“I’m obsessed with the way Shogun uses light,” another wrote. While a third joked: “What if we had lighting, sets, and costumes? What about that?”

Another comment read: “They also added: what if we paint every single scene like it’s a portrait? Because goddamn if this isn’t one of the most beautiful shows I have ever watched.”

“May the scourge of 2010s lighting and sound mixing be at an end,” one user declared.

Even those who haven’t found reason to tune-in to the new series just yet are finding themselves convinced by even the idea of good lighting.

“This tweet did more to sell Shogun to me than any other ad ever could,” one user said of the original post, while another agreed: “This is enough to get me to tune in.”

This is actually a huge selling point for me and I’m now more inclined to check the show out,” another comment said. “I’m so sick of prestige TV that looks like mud.”

If excellent lighting isn’t enough to get you excited for the new series, then it sounds like you’ll be missing out. To find out how to watch Shogun, take a look at our guide.

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About The Author

Jessica Cullen is a TV and Movies Writer at Dexerto. She's previously written for The Digital Fix, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, Slate and more. Aside from being the residential Yellowstone expert, she also loves Westerns, '90s action movies, and true crime. You can email her here: jessica.cullen@dexerto.com.